Quitters are losers! Sometimes, quitters are not lazy nor weak. Quitters have not given up on themselves or on they dream, they know how to leave when the situation is not to their liking. Besides, winners have failed and given up may times before being successful.
I’ll stay if I get paid enough! However, you already have one foot out of the door and no type of incentive can keep you on the job.
Keep your head down and work hard! You will end up doing most of the work, burnt out and not getting recognized for it, not building useful relationships and not finding any meaning in your work.
Try and fit in! You will be acting like someone you are not and consequently be drained from all your energy because the corporate culture should fit your personality and not the other way around.
Your job is not supposed to be fun! No, it’s not but it’s not supposed to deteriorate your health or leave you feeling empty either.
These common expressions usually confine us and unfortunately drive our day-to-day decisions. Dissatisfied employees become toxic employees on the long run. In fact, studies have shown that money and promotions are not the only factor that keep employees on the job.
Wondering why it is important to be satisfied with your job and how to bring meaning to your job?
What is job satisfaction?
Job satisfaction is an employee pleasurable emotional reaction and sense of pride towards the job or towards their experiences on the job.
Job satisfaction is said to increase productivity, goes beyond job conditions, remains both immeasurable and complex. It is composed of intrinsic (pay, promotions, coworkers, supervision, and the nature of the work) as well as extrinsic elements (recognition, working conditions, and company and management).
Employees tend to feel dissatisfied and unmotivated when their job don’t fulfill their individual needs. For some, job satisfaction is translated by a need for meaning, for purpose, for great leadership, for good relationships with coworkers, for cultural adaptation and sensitivity. For others, job satisfaction is expressed by a need for autonomy, for freedom, for recognition, for new challenges that fit their personality or for personal development and training.
Why is job satisfaction important?
Firstly, job satisfaction is an indicator of your psychological health and well-being, rubs off on your work performance, and often spills over to your personal life.
Secondly, job satisfaction is a hard reflection of the corporate culture. The assessment of job satisfaction is done in many organizations during the annual performance review for humanitarian and statistical purposes. Organizations can therefore place employees in the area of their strengths or understand the behaviors of their employees.
Why stay in a job that brings you no joy?
There are five common reasons why people tend to stay in a frustrating job:
- Financial responsibility. People in this case rely heavily on a stable income. Changing jobs and choosing a fulfilling career doesn’t mean leaving the life of a broke artists or taking a lower paid job. It requires forward planning, saving and preparation.
- Employee retention programs. In certain organization, retirement and funds programs are specifically designed to retain employees, to reduce training costs and ameliorate their statistics.
- Misplaced loyalty towards the organization. Employees with misplaced loyalty are not willing to compromise their years of service to the organization and leave for a much more fulfilling career. I see this behavior mostly in leaders, who have extreme responsibilities and who refuse to let a disappointing job go. Just know this: no matter how long you have worked for an organization, they have no sense of commitment towards their employees and employees shouldn’t have towards them either.
- Fear of change. Most people stay in an unfulfilling job because they fear the unknown and are overly cautious. Job satisfaction is about not being complacent and going after what you really want.
- Pessimism or fear of failure. Some employees believe that there isn’t better career options out there, believe that it will get worse that it actually is or that they will fail. it is necessary for these employees to broaden their scope and evaluate their options with exterior help.
How to find satisfaction or meaning on your job?
When there isn’t any satisfaction on your job, we tend to lose motivation and begin to burn out. The cost of staying in a job you hate is greater than pursuing something that brings you joy. In order to bring job satisfaction or find a fulfilling career:
- Recognize that time is short. You don’t have the luxury of doing something you hate all the days of your life.
- Know yourself well, identify your motivations, strengths and weaknesses to know whether or not you will thrive in the occupation that you have chosen, to find a job that is aligned with your values and principles. Then, find out what you do best with the least amount of effort, a hobby or passion and create a way to make money out of it.
- Gain the necessary skills for your new career. Don’t hesitate to take the initiative, get training and lead yourself towards your real aspirations.
- Ensure that you have multiple streams of income and are not bound to any job for a paycheck. Diversify with income-creative activities that you enjoy and don’t take up all your time.
- Explore different career paths by getting out of your comfort zone, ask new questions, renew your skills, activate your sense of discovery, trust yourself and listen to your inner voice, take a class, go on a retreat, broaden your perspective.
- Get realistic information and job descriptions, expected behaviors from employees in order to clarify their roles within the organization.
- Align your expectations of the job with reality. Recognize the impact of your work on yourself, your family and friends, and your community and take note of the discrepancies between your efforts and the rewards.
- Build a social life but avoid comparing yourself to others.
- Assess the time you need away from people and away from work to recharge your batteries.
- Every day remind yourself of your purpose and do it everyday. Stay in the present and trust the future. Persevere and stay committed, advance toward new opportunities and challenges.
- Last but not least, learn to say no.
Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!
Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.
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It’s very important to be happy about your job. I actually hate mine… however in these days it is not easy to find a job in the first place, and you have to accept what you get, therefore it’s not easy to be happy about your job.
It is not easy to find a job and even one that you enjoy. That is why you either have to give yourself the permission to explore different jobs or work on your side hustle until it becomes your main hustle. Thank you for commenting!
Great tips. I am on that journey of finding a new career that will satisfy me for the next phase of my life. It is scary of going into the uncharted territory. But, we spend at least 1/3 of our waking life on our work. We might as well do something that we enjoy.
Absolutely! I hope that you find a career that fulfills you. Thank you for commenting!
I couldn’t agree more. Without meaning and satisfaction we will not able to be successful in our work. Great article!
Without meaning, the energy we put into the job is not restored! Thank you for commenting!
I’ve heard it said that if you love the job you do, you never work a day in your life and I have to agree! I’ve had one job that I just loved the heck out of and I never felt like I went there to “work” because I went there to play! No job is perfect, but sticking it out is important. Not to mention, jobs are hard to come by these days! Great post!
Some good tips there, however, I find it that people sometimes stay in a job they don’t love because of the financial responsibilities or because they fear of change. I believe, that every job has got its high and low points and apart from some of the tips you mentioned it is also worth finding little positives about the work-place or the job we do.
You make some valid points here. thank you for commenting!
I love this post. IT really reinforces some of the things I stood for in the work world for others. Now that I work for myself, I enjoy (even more) the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. All the very best in your blogging and work world.
I’m glad to hear that you are fulfilled by your job. It takes people time to find a job that brings them satisfaction. Thank you for commenting!
Yaaas! I love this. Your job really shouldn’t be a damper on your psychological or physical well-being. It’s so important to learn to set boundaries and say no. And life really is too short to stay at a job you hate.
I learned this the hard way with Graves Disease (a stressful job caused a relapse that knocked me on my butt for a while). But I’m glad I did. It changed my life and helped me find my way to a fulfilling job I love ♡. Thanks for sharing!
It’s smart and productive to see the positive in negative situations. I’m glad you are doing better. Thank you for commenting!
This is very helpful and insight on how to make work life comfortable and better and be more focused. Lovely reasons to either stay on the job or leave to start your side hustle. Thanks
Thank you Rawlings, I appreciate your comments!
You are welcome.
Excellent Advice !!!
Thanks!
You are most welcome !!!
I’m in the middle of feeling this way. My attitude sucks and I know it. That’s why I’m building my own business. Thanks for the reassurance that I’m on the right track.
I can relate. Your attitude maybe has something to do with the fact that you are not getting what you need from your job and that you are not where you want to be hustle wise. The more you invest into your own business, The more you will correct your thoughts and direct them to improving your business, the more you will find that you are walking in your purpose, the more you will feel comfortable in our own skin. Thank you for commenting!
Yes! Job satisfaction is so important as we trade our precious time…
Absolutely. Thank you for commenting!
Very nicely laid out. It is for sure important to find satisfaction in our work. That’s what God wants for us and that’s what we should want for ourselves. 💚
Very much so. Thank you for commenting!